This invention relates generally to oral appliances and, in particular, to a device for improving breathing and a method of constructing the same.
Many people experience breathing problems on a recurring basis, which often results in difficulty sleeping, in snoring, or in other more serious conditions such as obstructive sleep apnea. One treatment for such breathing problems involves use of an oral appliance inserted into a user""s mouth for extending the user""s lower jaw forward. These appliances help to open the user""s breathing passage more fully to allow easier breathing through the user""s nose and mouth. A system to supply air to the user""s nose, such as a continuous positive air pressure (CPAP) system, may be used in connection with an oral appliance to help force open the user""s breathing passage where the user experiences more acute breathing difficulties or an oral appliance alone is considered insufficient for some reason.
As technology advances and people with breathing problems demand increased performance and comfort, improving the breathing of the users becomes increasingly important. Although prior techniques for improving breathing have included an oral appliance, a mask for delivering air to the user""s nose, or both an oral appliance and a mask, these techniques have typically not involved integrating these components to achieve improved fit, comfort, and performance. Moreover, there are often significant inadequacies with respect to each of these components, causing the overall solution to fail in many circumstances. These and other deficiencies have made previous devices and techniques inadequate to satisfy the needs of many users who experience breathing difficulties such as obstructive sleep apnea.
According to the present invention, problems and disadvantages associated with previous devices and techniques for improving breathing are substantially reduced or eliminated.
In one embodiment of the present invention, a device for improving a user""s breathing includes an oral appliance and a connecting post coupled to the oral appliance. The connecting post has an arm providing a standard interface to engage cooperatively shaped openings in other components each designed to improve the user""s breathing in at least one respect. The oral appliance may be used to position the user""s lower jaw forward. At least one component may be either a venting seal, a nasal flange, a CPAP interface, a custom mask, or a non-custom mask.
In another embodiment of the present invention, a device for improving a user""s breathing includes an oral appliance, a connecting post coupled to the oral appliance having an arm, and a CPAP interface coupled to the arm and used to deliver a gas to the user""s nose to improve the user""s breathing. A venting seal coupled to the arm reduces venting of the gas from the user""s mouth to further improve the user""s breathing.
In yet another embodiment of the present invention, a CPAP interface includes a CPAP coupler that receives a gas from a CPAP system and a pair of nasal pillows that seat within a portion of the user""s nose to deliver the gas to the user. A pair of tubes are coupled to the nasal pillows. A pair of joints couple the tubes to the CPAP coupler, the joints allowing the positions of the tubes to be adjusted to adjustably position the nasal pillows within the user""s nose.
The present invention provides many important technical advantages over prior techniques for improving breathing. The present invention allows for integration of a variety of components, each of which is designed to improve the user""s breathing in at least one respect, into a single device. Through the standard interface that the arm may provide, multiple manufacturers may produce specialized components for use in the device without requiring that each manufacturer be willing or capable of producing all such components. This may allow users and their clinical professionals to choose from among a variety of product offerings to construct a device suiting the user""s particular needs and improve fit, comfort, and performance. The oral appliance, venting seal, and CPAP interface (or alternatively the nasal flange), whether from a single or multiple sources, cooperate to improve the user""s breathing beyond what was achievable using previous devices. The components are adjustable forward or rearward along the arm, providing yet another important technical advantage with respect to fit, comfort, and performance. The CPAP interface itself offers an improvement over existing devices such as masks and the like, which do not adequately address venting and are typically unable to keep the user""s breathing passage open where the user experiences relatively severe obstructive sleep apnea. Other technical advantages will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art.